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Senior Reform UK Figures Clash over Immigration Plans
Zia Yusuf said Robert Jenrick’s answer was not Reform policy and said foreign nationals in social housing would be deported.
On Tuesday, Reform UK home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf publicly rejected treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick's deportation stance, posting on X that his answer was 'not Reform policy' and restating that foreign nationals in social housing at taxpayer expense automatically fail the party's economic test.
Jenrick's appearance on Sky News Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips prompted the rebuke after the journalist asked whether legal foreign residents in social housing would face automatic deportation under Reform. Jenrick replied 'Well not exclusively because of that.'
Reform's official policy requires foreign nationals to meet strict employment criteria; those receiving taxpayer-funded housing automatically fail this test under the party's plan to scrap indefinite leave to remain for non-EU migrants. Yusuf emphasized this distinction in his post.
Journalist Dan Hodges wrote the party is in 'open civil war and experiencing a complete nervous breakdown,' while the dispute emerges as Reform attempts to win the Makerfield by-election against Labour Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.
Restore Britain, backed by Elon Musk and far-right accounts on X, threatens to split Reform's vote in Makerfield, while mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham warned earlier this month that the party's mass deportation messaging could alienate Jewish voters.